Easy Configuration of the System Clock on Cisco Routers & Switches

Setting the System Clock on Cisco Routers & Switches

Router’s clock is a useful tool when making advanced configurations and different routers’ clock must be exactly synchronized. The system clock runs from the moment the system starts up and keeps track of the current date and time. The system clock can be set from a number of sources, and in turn can be used to distribute to other systems. To manually set the system clock, use one of the formats of the clock set EXEC command (Remember, its not a golbal config command, although it affects the whole router).

Router# clock set hh:mm:ss day month yyyy
Router# clock set hh:mm:ss month day yyyy

In the following example, the system clock is manually set to 1:32 p.m. on May 12, 2001:

Router#clock set 09:40:00 19 Jan 2009

To view the status of current clock of Router, use following command;

                        Router# show clock

                        09:40:31.247 UTC Mon Jan 19 2009